UPDATE: MISSISSIPPI

In late July, the Mississippi Attorney General asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to dismiss a contempt conviction against Delta Democrat Times reporter Cynthia Jeffries.

Jeffries was arrested and jailed for four hours for violating an order issued by Circuit Judge Shirley Byers not to publish a criminal defendant’s juvenile record that was discussed in open court during a sentencing hearing.

The state conceded that Byers’ order was a presumptively invalid prior restraint and that Jeffries was “authorized to contest the order by disobeying it.” (Jeffries v. State of Mississippi; Media Counsel: Roy Campbell III, Greenville)